Exhausted
by Quilliariya
Summary: Yes, that was exactly what Juvia Lockser felt when she collapsed on the ground in the middle of the heated battle. She could feel the rough earth underneath her fingertips, the searing pain on her gut, and the burning sensation on her palm that caused the negation of her magic.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail no matter how much I want to.**

**XxX**

Exhausted.

Yes, that was exactly what Juvia Lockser felt when she collapsed on the ground in the middle of the heated battle. She could feel the rough earth underneath her fingertips, the searing pain on her gut, and the burning sensation on her palm that caused the negation of her magic. She could smell Natsu's flame from afar, Gajeel's metallic scent that comforted her lots of times, and Wendy's fragrant winds. Faintly she could see Erza fighting off a being with Jellal(who had mysteriously appeared from God-knows-where again), Levy's eyes widening in horror as she ran towards her, and Lucy's discarded figure from far-back, desperate to stand up again.

Lastly, she heard his voice. A pained smile made its way on her face.

"Fuck!" Gray shouted as he kicked some random beast in the face, proceeding to create sharp icicles that he made sure to impale into that ugly creature's body.

Maybe it was the last thing she would hear? Juvia had thought, the feeling of blood escaping the deep gash on her stomach. The enemy stood above her, a dark smirk on her face that could've been beautiful.

"Should I end your suffering?" she asked sadistically, and Juvia felt the urge to cry. She felt so helpless—she couldn't move, she couldn't sit, she couldn't stand, nor could she attack.

"Juvia is not suffering," she told the enemy with all her might, but her voice cracked.

When Juvia thought that the enemy would cackle at her for her fear, she was proved wrong by none other than Levy Mcgarden.

"Solid Script: Lightning!" the young, blue-haired girl shouted with all her might, and the bolt hit the enemy directly, making her scream loudly. The unknown lady flinched away, heading on to tease Erza this time. _Bad choice, _Levy had thought.

Levy glanced at Lucy, who had screamed at her to help Juvia. The blonde was now being deposited to Natsu's side by Happy, and she seemed a lot better than her previous condition already.

"Juvia!" Levy exclaimed, knowing full-well that the girl was in no condition to move. She kneeled down, falling to the water mage's side, examining her wounds. There was a rune-like figure on her palm, and a deep wound on her side. Blood was already seeping from her blue clothes to the earth, and she knew that if she didn't act soon, the water mage would die from blood loss. A word Gajeel used most frequently would describe the situation terribly:

_Shit. _

"LEVY!" Gray bellowed as he ran over to the two blunettes. His shirt was discarded somewhere in the battlefield, and scratches filled his collarbone down. "what happened?"

"Gray-sama," Juvia said, her voice scratchy and hoarse, "Juvia is alright," she told the man, smiling. She can't allow him to see her like this—weak, pathetic, and a _burden. _She was scared of what Gray thought of her, after all. More importantly, she needed him to be beside Natsu, beside Gajeel, fighting for justice and show those evildoers the light, like he had done with her.

"Shut up," Gray snapped, glaring down at her frail form. Levy glared at him as he did so, thinking him inconsiderate and incredibly thoughtless. "You don't look fine to me."

It took Juvia all the effort to speak without looking as if she was going to puke her insides out. "But Juvia really is fine! All she has to do is turn to water—and—"

"You can't turn to water, and you know that," Levy interrupted gently, running a hand on Juvia's knuckles, inspecting the rune. She had removed one of her sleeves and tied it on Juvia's wound, trying to get it to stop bleeding. "This rune negates powers. I'll be able to cancel it out if I could rewrite it, but it might take some time, and—" the solid script mage was cut off mid-sentence, her eyes widening and her irises dilating in fear as she screamed her next word, "GAJEEL!"

The iron dragon slayer had fallen to the ground in a helpless heap, his muscles aching every time he tried to move them. He looked over to the girl who screamed his name, and once again, the burning passion that kept Salamander going flowed through his veins, and Gajeel was ready to stand up and fight again.

It was wonderful what love can do to you.

"He's alright Levy!" Gray said, directing the girl's attention back to them two of them. "How do you rewrite the rune?"

"I-I don't know," the girl stuttered, the initial shock of seeing Gajeel fall and force himself to stand up still making her heart pound. "I just—uhh—the rune—"

"Levy-san," Juvia said, raising her hand up(the pain resembled knives piercing through her skin, but she made no complaint) to place her knuckles on the girl's cheek; a stupid attempt to calm her down, if she does says so herself. "Juvia can survive this. Levy-san has to support Gajeel-kun over there," she pointed towards the dragon slayer's direction.

"No," Levy said, glaring at the water mage this time. Screw being insensitive, Juvia was being too freaking nice. "You need me more than he needs me right now, so please stop being so selfless."

"Gray-sama—can't see me," Juvia coughed, slight tears rising in her eyes as she spoke in pain, "being a burden—so please—Juvia can do this—she needs to be strong—for him—"

"Juvia, shut up!" Gray shouted, and the water mage clamped her mouth shut, her eyes bleary as she looked at Gray. Levy looked at the both of them. She grabbed her quill and headed a short distance. They needed to talk, and she needed to figure out how to rewrite the spell. It was a convenient enough event.

"Gray-sama, go join the battle. Natsu-san needs you to fight along—"

"They don't fucking need me in that goddamn battle, now cut the crap and stop spewing out bullshit." The ice-make mage was biting back tears as he looked down. _Not again,_ he thought. _Not another one. _"Don't die. He said simply."

Juvia smiled again, her breathing ragged. "Gray-sama, don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" he protested, her cheeks reddening despite the circumstances. "Just—just don't die. Let Levy work her magic."

"Gray-sama—"

"Stop calling me Gray-sama, dammit! Stop saying that!" Gray said, raising his head to look at the rain woman. "It's GRAY. Just Gray. Please stop—stop treating me like a God—Juvia—dammit just don't die!"

Juvia stared at the crystal-like tears the ice mage shed, and she felt as if she wanted to sit up and hug him, dry his tears and comfort him. She knew that he wasn't mad at her. He was mad at the world. He was mad at their current situation.

As if to tease him, "Gray sama," she stated, "If I don't make it—"

"You'll fucking make it Juvia!" He practically screamed at her, and he took her rune-d hand, placing it delicately between two of his. She could feel his warmth through the burning pain, as if it was the one countering it, cooling it, removing it.

How could an ice mage be so warm?

"I love you." Her voice didn't crack, and it was clear as if she had just casually said it on an ordinary day. Her face was gentle, and the smile that had played on her lips since a while ago remained. Her eyes crinkled with happiness, yet tears still rose and fell to the sides of her face to her hair.

Gray was stunned. For a moment, the battle seemed to stop. Erza and Jellal's spells seemed to null itself into existence. Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy's roars were non-existent. It was as if the whole world muted itself just for him, for him to hear the statement and most glorious fact that had screamed in his face since he had met the blue-haired girl.

She loved him.

And this time, she was absolutely, positively, definitely serious. It wasn't "Juvia loves you." It was "I" loved you. He could see the weight of those three words in her smile, in her tears, in her voice. This time, she wasn't hunting down Lucy, or stalking him, or bringing him everything he needs, or providing him comfort in times of need.

It meant she was done.

He didn't want her to be "done." She wasn't joking anymore. She didn't have the time of day to play around with her newfound feelings anymore. She was _dying._

And here she was, being selfless and kind and so unlike the first time he had met her. She had been an emotionless bitch, if he was perfectly honest, but seeing her now, writhing on the floor beside him, yet still incredibly understanding and loving and caring and just being "Juvia"—well, he felt lost.

The battle seemed to resume, this time louder than ever. Erza's shouts seemed to be amplified to the highest degree and the three dragon slayers' roars were ringing in his ears. The world resumed its phase again, and he kneeled there, frozen in place.

"Juvia," he said gently, as he moved over and gently placed her head on his lap. It was a notion that he wouldn't have been caught dead doing a long time ago, but it seemed absolutely perfect to do so now. The water mage seemed surprised by his action, yet she made no complaint.

Juvia's heart was pounding in her chest loudly. Had she finally gotten into him? Did she finally melt that heart of his, coated in ice? She closed her eyes, trying to numb the pain in her side, but Gray placed his hand on her cheek, his warmth radiating from it. The girl nuzzled into it unconsciously, and she opened her eyes to look up to the dark-haired man, her cheeks red.

He wasn't looking at her, but a red tinge dashed itself in the middle of his face.

"Don't close your eyes," he told her distantly. "Just don't. If you're in pain, tell me."

Juvia nodded against his hand knowing that he'll understand and feel it. Because that's how they worked. They understood each other through body actions only, and it made their relationship all the more special.

"Gray-sama—"

"Gray."

"Gray. Thank you," she told him, and he looked at her. His eyes, for once, were gentle, and a small smile graced his lips.

He wasn't only handsome. He was wonderful.

He was selfless and kind and he thought of everyone as family. He gave everyone a chance. He gave _her _ a chance.

And she loved him for it.

Maybe he was doing this because he pitied her too much already. Maybe he knew that she was going to die soon, so he was going to send her to heaven at peace.

"Juvia, don't close your eyes," he said as he gently nudged her cheek, and she realized that everything was already becoming blurry. She felt lightheaded, and the skies seemed as if they were turning a bit lighter.

"Gray-sa—Gray, it isn't raining anymore," she told him happily, looking at the magnificent blue sky that spread out above them. Gray looked up bitterly, wondering how the sky could be so happy when everything was so—devastating. "You took away Juvia's rain."

"You did that by yourself," he told her.

"But Gray made Juvia happy, so the rain disappeared all by itself," Juvia retorted. "The rain was with Juvia since Juvia was a child. She was always teased about it." She giggled weakly, wincing when the pain at her side became too much. Gray caressed her cheek gently, feeling helpless. "They called her ame-onna. Rain woman. Juvia didn't mind when it was Gajeel who called her that, though. It felt nice to hear it from an actual friend."

For a moment Gray felt a pang of jealousy for Gajeel. That man had known Juvia way before he had, and he probably understood more of the girl more than he did.

"And then Juvia met Gray-sa—Gray." Her smile widened. "He was so handsome, Juvia did not want to fight him."

Gray blushed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. She had always showered him with compliments, but he always brushed them aside. "Irrelevant." He had thought. "Un-needed."

"But Gray isn't only handsome," Juvia said faintly, closing her eyes. Once again, Gray nudged her.

He couldn't take any chances. If she closed her eyes, perhaps she would never wake. Her wound had stopped bleeding long ago, now they just had to remove the rune that caused her powers to deteriorate. He glanced at Levy, who was writing away with her quill, forming runes and other counter measures. Gajeel was by her side, protecting the three of them from nearby beasts and predators. Silently, he thanked the man ((when in all honesty he felt like a bonus; Juvia was a good friend of Gajeel's and he was in love with Levy, though he would never admit it)).

Juvia took a deep breath and she coughed, and her face contorted slightly as a rippling pain washed from her stomach to her chest. She pressed her cheek against Gray's hand, seeking it's warmth.

He felt absolutely clueless when it came to comforting people. With ease, he adjusted their position so that her head was lying more comfortably on his lap, and she removed her hat so that she could feel a little more air seep in through her scorching body.

She kept talking, as if it would stop her pain. "Gray wants his family to come first. Juvia knows that Gray doesn't like Lucy-san like that, but she definitely feels insecure when she's around her. Gray loves Natsu-san and Erza-san even though he says he doesn't. Gray loves Ur-san, and Ultear-san, and Lyon-san because they were all family at some point. Gray loves the guild because they make him feel at home. Gray loves fighting because it makes him feel alive." She paused to breathe, and it astounded him that she knew so much about him. Her stalking must have paid off, and he smirked at this.

"Gray loves Juvia."

He doesn't know why he said his previous statement, but he did. His face was flaming red, but he felt as if he had just understood something he was supposed to understand a long time ago.

Juvia's eyes widened, and she looked up at Gray, surprise written on her face. "What?"

"I love you, Juvia."

Juvia smiled weakly, and she raised her hand up and placed a hand over his, pressing it closer to her cheek. "Juvia's glad that Gray plans on making her happy before she goes to heaven."

"What?"

Gray looked down at the girl, and he gripped her hand firmly yet with care. "I'm not lying!" he said. Because he knew he wasn't.

He fell in love with her somewhere along the way.

He was just too motherfucking stupid to realize it.

"That makes Juvia happier though," she said gently, closing her eyes and opening them again, remembering his reminder. "Juvia is happy—"

She was interrupted by a series of coughs, and she turned to her side, disregarding the searing pain. Out of her mouth was blood.

It scared her.

She would have screamed had she possessed the energy to do so. Gray held her hair so it was out of her face, and he screamed for Levy to "just please hurry up!"

Panic was clouding in Levy's eyes, and Gajeel was telling her to "calm down" and Gray was telling her to "hurry up." She had to write the runes quickly. Juvia's life was at stake.

Juvia lied straight up again, sobbing. Her powers were concealed. She didn't have to worry about the rain coming. "Gray, can Juvia ask for a favour. . .please, just this once. . ."

She never asked anything of him, and it scared him. He adjusted her position again, arranging it so that her first half was lying against his arms, and her head was leaning on his bare chest. "Anything, alright? Just get better."

"Tell Juvia you love her—please," she voiced. She sounded beaten and broken, and he clutched her tighter.

"I love you, okay? Goddammit I'm not fucking lying, I fucking love you to the fucking heavens and back. The unison raid wouldn't have worked if I didn't trust you! And Meredy's sensory link would never have functioned had I not felt the same way, right? I just—I love you, Juvia, so please—" Tears were streaming down the ice mage's face without his control, and he despised feeling so weak. "please, Juvia—I love you."

"I got it!" Levy shouted, and she ran towards the two, Gajeel trailing behind them, his iron rod still intact. "I got it, please, hold on Juvia!" she shouted with all her might.

Juvia laughed, and she felt no pain. She felt numb. She felt incredibly happy. Her tinkling laughter echoed in Gray's ears, and he was filled with hope. "I love you too, Gray. I love you."

Levy knelt beside the two of them, scratching her quill into the earth quickly, perfectly, she must not make any mistakes. She finished her final letter, muttered chosen enchanted words, and watched as the runes lit up, surrounding both Gray and Juvia.

The light shimmered and glistened, playing around the both of them, until it reached Juvia's palm, which was resting on her stomach, just above her wound.

The rune lit up, turning bright red then cool blue—and then, it was cancelled out, disappearing without a trace on Juvia's smooth skin.

"Success," Levy muttered, smiling towards Gajeel. The man returned her smile with ease.

Gray looked at Juvia, pressing his forehead on hers. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling peacefully. He thought she was absolutely beautiful. "Juvia," he whispered. "Everything's okay now. The rune's cancelled."

It surprised him when she made no response. "Oi, Juvia," he said a little more harshly. "Don't play around, or I'll believe you."

No response.

"Wake up, come on."

No response.

Levy's eyes watered with tears and she fell back, only to be caught by Gajeel's strong arms. "I was too late," she whispered, digging her nails into her skin. She felt weak. "I was too late!" she repeated.

Gajeel wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her shoulders. She was shaking uncontrollably, and the iron dragon slayer bit back his lip as tears made its way into his scarlet irises. His first friend. Gone.

"Juvia, wake up, please!" Gray shouted, burying his hands into her blue hair and pressing her face into his shoulders, hugging her.

She never did.

She didn't feel the rough earth underneath her fingertips, the searing pain on her gut, and the burning sensation on her palm that caused the negation of her magic. All she felt was the warmth of the ice mage as he enveloped her lovingly. She couldn't smell Natsu's flame from afar, Gajeel's metallic scent that comforted her lots of times, and Wendy's fragrant winds. All she could smell was him, his "Gray-sama" aroma, the scent that only surrounded her in her dreams. She couldn't see Erza fighting off a being with Jellal. All she could see was Gray, looking at her from above with care.

The last thing she heard was "I love you, Juvia." The last thing she said was "I love you, Gray."

**XxX**

_*Ducks* don't kill me! I didn't want to write angst, but I've been facing writer's block and my fingers just seemed to type today, so I couldn't say no ahahaha okay. I tried to keep this as realistic as possible so yeah I hope you guys like it. Read and review please!_


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